A Driverless Chevy Bolt? See What the Bowtie Brand Has Planned for its New EV

As we have said before, and we will say again – the first publicly sold self-driving car will be here sooner than most people think. As big name automotive brands have been successfully partnering with technology companies to bring their self-driving car dreams to life, the race to sell the first autonomous driving car is on. Not only do these dream teams want to bring the very first driverless car to the American market, but they want it to be the best. The partnership between Volvo and Uber has already resulted in self-driving XC90s on public roadways, while Google is currently working to perfect the self-driving technology, as well as the car itself. Here in Detroit, another big name brand is teaming up with a tech company in hopes of bringing their dreams to life.

Chevrolet and another ride-share company, Lyft, have joined forces in an effort to transform the all-electric Bolt into the world’s first publicly sold autonomous driving car. Despite the rigorous testing program that the American-made manufacturer has in place, we are still a few years off from seeing these bad boys arrive at Chevy dealers. Dayton, Ohio residents may have to wait a bit, but from everything that the brand is doing, it seems that the wait won’t be too long after all.

Chevy and Lyft: A Match Made in Self-Driving Heaven

In January of 2016, General Motors invested a hearty $500 million into the ride-sharing company, Lyft, in the hopes of transforming the all-electric Bolt into the first mass produced autonomous driving car. Mary Barra is the chief executive of General Motors, the parent company of Chevrolet. In a press conference earlier this month, Barra had a lot to say about the newest self-driving version of the Chevy Bolt, and their partnership with Lyft. “We have the opportunity and the responsibility to create a new model of personal transportation. We’re ensuring that our [autonomous vehicles] can operate safely across a full range of road, weather and climate conditions.”

While General Motors continues to work with Lyft in order to one day deploy a fleet of self-driving cars into its ride-sharing program, another tech-auto partnership seems to have hit a road bump. Uber and Volvo may have teamed up this year in an effort to do the same as GM and Lyft, but their stubbornness toward compliance in San Francisco has left their West Coast project stalled. The tech-giant deployed a fleet of autonomous driving Volvo SUVs to the streets of San Fran just last week, publicly admitting their direct violation of city regulations regarding test vehicles. Despite their somewhat pressuring plea to the Golden City, government officials halted the self-driving program on December 21. Whether the decision had to do with several self-driving Uber SUVs caught running red lights and putting bike lane users in danger, we may never know. All we do know is that Uber’s determination to keep their program alive in their home state, may have been their one-way ticket to this brief demise.

As Uber and Volvo’s self-driving test run in California has fizzled out for the moment, Chevy and Lyft are just getting started over in Motor City.

Detroit: The New Home of Autonomous Driving

In early December, Detroit government passed four new bills into law, making the city the most liberal in terms of the public testing of self-driving cars. Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation making the testing and deployment of self-driving cars not only legal, but also encouraged. The new laws are aimed at helping the new technology take off as quickly and as effectively as possible, with Snyder noting, “In my heart I view this as a portal opening for safety, for opportunity for more economic success. We should be proud we’re leading the world, right here in Michigan.” While Snyder’s decision has helped propel General Motors’ plans to create a self-driving car, it also seems that the newest addition to the bowtie brand’s lineup is the first car to receive the autonomous driving capability.

GM Created a Driverless Chevy Bolt

In a press conference a week before Christmas, GM’s Mary Barra announced that the company will begin producing a new generation of autonomous driving cars at its Orion Township factory in Michigan. The factory is slated to begin production of self-driving Chevy Bolts in early 2017, although they won’t be for sale – just yet.

In the same press conference, Barra also addressed safety concerns that the public has expressed regarding driverless car technology. “By adding Michigan to our real-world testing program, we’re ensuring that our AVs can operate safely across a wide range of road, weather, and climate conditions, from desert heat to Great Lakes snow to crowded city streets. This is necessary to make certain our AVs meet the same strict standards for safety and quality that we’ve been building into traditional vehicles.”

General Motors has been testing autonomous vehicles for longer than most people realize, with public road testing already on the ground in Scottsdale, Arizona, and San Francisco (Don’t worry, they applied for permits…). The automotive giant has also been testing autonomous Chevy Bolts on its own private property in Warren, Michigan, as the brand continues to perfect the new technology.

For now, the company is remaining tight-lipped about how many AV Bolts it plans to manufacture, or when it hopes to have these cars deployed in Lyft’s public fleet of rideshare vehicles. Chevy Bolts that are capable of driving without human input feature lidar sensors and cameras on the roof, and along the front and rear bumpers.

As we patiently wait for more information regarding the self-driving Chevy Bolt, we can still take solace in the fact that the 238-mile range Bolt will be making its way into dealerships early next year. While it may not be capable of driving without a person behind the wheel just yet, the trips and money it will save you at the pump is noteworthy itself.

Learn More at McCluskey Chevrolet

McCluskey Chevrolet is proud to represent an automotive brand that is on the cutting edge of new on-road technology. With so much happening in the next few months, be sure to stop by McCluskey Chevrolet to see everything else the bowtie brand has available. As soon as the 2017 Bolt makes its way onto our showroom floor, you will be the first to know. Trust us, you won’t want to miss it!